Just ordered i9300 and have a question

Hey everyone, I've been a lurker for about a month, and decided to make an account after I ordered my i9300.

I ordered it with the 1yr return-to-depot with completecare warranty, but would like to change it to the 3yr-return-to-depot warranty (+$31 as upgrade option). I was wondering if this would be possible to do over the phone, before they ship the notebook, and if there would be any additional fees. Also, I was wondering if the 3yrs of completecare coverage is worth considering. I likely won't be moving the machine very often, and when I do I will be using the backpack carrying case (I thought the normal carrying case would be too heavy for my sister to use sometimes, and the backpack would be easier for her to carry, am I wrong? Can I change this too?).

In addition to changing the warranty, I was wondering if I could posibly trade the 80GB 5400rpm for the 60GB 7200rpm for the difference in money (~$35) and whether or not that would be worth it in faster booting and loading times.

I am in Ontario, Canada if that makes any difference.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

 

I'm not sure if you can make changes to your order after you place it, but you could probably cancel it and just redo the order

Hmm, considering that the HDD in the i9300 is EIDE100, you wont see much of a speed increase going from a 5400 to a 7200RPM - the transfer rate is already maxed out at 5400, so you wouldnt see a real big performance increase. If anything, the 7.2kRPM's kill your battery life and produce more heat.

 

have you checked the status of it online. if not, it should tell you if its to late to change, and if changes are necessary to cancel the order.


:dell:

 

as long as it hasn't shipped, you can make changes to your order (this delays your ship date as they actually finish the build and sent it to the outlet and build a new machine for you, so the process starts over again).

if it has shipped, you have to return it, and re-order.

 

Will only changing the warranty delay my system? The warranty change won't require them to add, remove, or rebuild the computer, so I hope it won't delay it.

 

good question, why don't you call a dell rep and ask?

 

Okay, they can change the warranty without delay, but I encountered another problem. After getting transferred around 4 Dell reps when calling the Customer Care number on the Dell.ca website, the last rep told me to call someone at a different 1-800 number and dial an extension, something to do with people in the sales division. The guy I reached told me I could change the warranty, but my order confirmation hadn't arrived because my dad's credit card didn't go through. He said he thought I might've put in the wrong information on my end (although I'm pretty sure I did everything right).

Earlier in the day, the credit card company called about an unusual online purchase (the Dell order, don't usually buy online), and my dad told them it was okay. The problem is, when they first called, nobody was home, and he had to call them back to say it was okay. It is possible they might've blocked the purchase before my dad could tell them it was okay, because the Dell guy on the phone told me that the card hadn't gone through.

The Dell rep wanted me to read him the credit card information to verify, but I was wary of doing that. He read to me the last 4 digits of the credit card, and the expiry date correctly, and said he could see it on his computer screen, but he wanted me to tell him the whole thing again to verify that a) I have the card and b) I didn't make a typo that could've caused the card not to go through. My dad had the card and was at work, so I told him I couldn't do it for a few hours. He told me he was almost done his shift, and that I could call him again tomorrow between 8am and 5pm my local time, and give him the card information to verify it, and that he would try to put the order through again, and if it works, give me my order confirmation and my order number.

So what do you think? This seems pretty reasonable and legit to me, but I'm still a bit wary about giving out credit card information over the phone to someone who I didn't reach through the customer care Dell phone number. The number I called to reach this guy was 1-800-387-5752. This isn't one of the numbers listed in the Contact Us part of the Dell.ca website. Is there any way to verify this number? Does this sound legit? Sorry if I'm being a bit paranoid, this is our first big online purchase.

 

Normally this is what happens....your credit card has a certain limit that you can spend on a daily basis. Because your laptop purchase is over this amount, you have to call the credit card company and authorize this purchase. Then you have to call dell back and usually verify the number. They will try to verify your purchase again while you are on the phone.

This happens alot. It happen to me, and I called my credit card company, and authorized the purchase. Then called Dell, and by the next morning, my status had changed to production.

I know it sounds scary, but in reality, this is to protect you from credit card theft. Reason that you have to call a separate 1-800 number is because it is the billings department of Dell, not the sales or technical part. They have a separate section just to handle these problems.
SG

 

Thanks for the reply, that helps to alleviate my concerns. I never thought buying a notebook could be such a long and complicated process. I thought researching and deciding on a notebook was the end of the hard part. Oh well, it'll be worth it the day I turn on my brand new i9300 (unless there are defective parts or dead pixels ).

Does anyone know how many dead pixels it takes to convince them to replace your LCD or send a new notebook? I know there is an official policy somewhere, but I also know they sometimes do it for less than the officially required number of dead pixels. I had an uncle get a new 17" LCD monitor from Dell because of one pixel stuck on the colour red in the bottom corner of his display.

Edit*

Also, does anyone have the quicksnap cover for their i9300? Does it provide any extra protection, or structural support, or is it just for show? It seems pretty expensive (CAN$40) if it's just there to be pretty. Since I am changing my warranty tomorrow, I want to know if the quicksnap cover is worth adding as well.

 

1 dead and 1 stuck green. dell rep replaced it after 2 mins on the phone.

 

Really? That's great to hear. I would have to have 1 dead pixel in the middle of the screen that couldn't be replaced. I decided to buy a Dell partly because I heard they had good service, I'm glad I made the right choice!

 

LOL, yeah it is complicated when you are ordering online versus at Best Buy or retail place. At retail places they can verify that it is your credit card, but with online, they have to take some extra steps to protect you as well as them.

I have the snap-cover. I think it does protect the lid very good. Plus I don't like the silver look at all. Its easy to take on/off. Its made of plastic and it doesn't scratch that easy. With the orginial lid, it will scratch easy. It does add a nice look to it, and it is shiny. I just use standard computer cleaning wipes to clean off the fingerprints.

I had no dead pixels on mine.
SG

 

Okay, I might get the quicksnap cover. I am only hesistant because it is so expensive. For like, $20 I'd buy it without hesitation. Without the quicksnap cover, does the LCD flex when pushed from behind? Also, what carrying case did you get? I have a friend with the i9100 and the nylon deluxe carrying case, and he finds it annoyingly heavy, and doesn't think it is particularly nice. I opted for the backpack, figuring it would be easier to carry around for longer trips on my back then in my hand. Does anyone know how good the backpack is? Is it a lot heavier than the nylon deluxe carrying case? Does the i9300 fit snugly into it, or does it get tossed around?

I'm asking a lot of questions because I'm anxious to get this thing, I've been reading up on notebooks for over a month now trying to decide on one. It will act as my main computer, so I decided to go for the i9300 for a larger screen and more power and features. For portability, I might take it to the campus library every now and then, or to a partner's house for projects, or to a friend's house for some LAN gaming, but I won't be bringing it to class everyday or taking it for business trips, so I figured the 8.5-9lbs it will likely weigh with the 9cell battery shouldn't be too bad.

 

No the LCD doesn't have any flex...or at least i don't think so. The lid is pretty solid. I am using Tekstyl's Tekmod bag. I love this bag cause it is light and really cool to use, but it is a tight fit and has very little room for accessories.

 

Okay, the credit card company was informed, called the Dell rep, he gave me the 3yr return to depot warranty upgrade, when i asked to change from 80GB 5400rpm to 60gb 7200rpm he said it worked out to be $170 more, even though its $170 more from the base 40gb, but whatever, I kept the 80GB 5400rpm, and got the system for $2158 before tax, $2481.70 after tax (Canadian). He said my order confirmation would come in 5 minutes, I am anxiously waiting for it.

 

Okay, got my confirmation! I'm excited! I can't wait until I get this thing. I just hope it comes flawless, so I don't have to go through the trouble of returning it for repairs.

 

Congrats on the purchase!! I love my i9300 and I know you will too! :dell:

 

dittto 2 that!!!!!

 

u don't return it for repairs. they build you a new one and send it to you. when you get the new one, you put the old one in the box and call dhl/ups/whoever to come pick it up.

this is assuming you exchange it withing 21 days of purchase.

also, i don't know if this applies to canada.

maybe you should just forget i said anything.

 

dont add the three years now, wait until you get your system then you can add the three year warranty.

 

Agreed with previous, youre going to love your 9300!!! Congratulations

 

I have 2 friends who bought i9100's last summer, and they are fairly happy with theirs. They haven't had any hardware problems to my knowledge, and their only complaints are that the i9100 is too heavy and hot (with a P4 /HT, that's to be expected). From what I can tell, the i9300 is 1lb or more lighter than the i9100, and is much cooler running, and almost half an inch thinner due to the new Pentium M and chipset. The battery life has increased by a fair amount as well. The video card is also at least twice as powerful, and I get DDR2 PC4200 dual channel memory instead of DDR PC3200 single channel memory. It's amazing what you can get for the same money only 1 year later. By next summer, I'll be kicking myself when the i9500 is a 64-bit dual-core Memron at 2GHz+ with a GO 7800 512mb weighing under 8lbs spec'd out

 

Update: Apparently my dad gets 5% off from corporate EPP, so I called them up, and they cancelled and redid my order with an extra 5% off. So my new total is $2050 before tax, $2357.61 after tax, in Canada. I managed to combine the 5% EPP with a $100 off coupon, so I'm pretty happy

 

that's sooo coooool..congratulations!!!